How To Date Fellow Humans
by Bionic Slime
Summary: Callum is hurt by Caludia's betrayal. Wanting to cheer him up, Rayla goes into "human mode" and attempts to take Callum on a real human date. Unfortunately, she's not sure about how a real date works, or how to dress for one, or not make a scene...hilarity and heart warming fluffiness ensues! *An alternate take/what if idea based on Episode 4 in Season 2.*
1. Chapter 1

"**How to Date Fellow Humans"**

_**Author: Just a couple notes before we begin. This is set during episode 13 "Voyage of the Ruthless" and basically is a what if scenario: what if Raylah and Callum and Ezran didn't get on Villads's ship right away? What if they stayed in town for a while and maybe...something happened? This isn't meant to be a super long story, just a fun, silly, sweet what if with one of my favorite ships! Enjoy!**_

* * *

Time, time was everything.

Time changes everything we do, think and see. Time can change thoughts, opinions, lives, weather, fashion, food, employment, healing, planning; everything was dictated by the power of time.

In the beginning, Rayla remembered a time where all she knew was hatred and loathing for humankind. They were greedy, back stabbers, barbaric; all that nasty stuff. She was fed those stories like they were candy; forced to feel disdain for a race she barely had any contact with. Much like how she was trained to kill others without ever knowing who they are or why they had to die.

When it came down to it, Rayla never managed to take the final plunge into assassin-hood. She just couldn't end a life no matter how hard she tried. Callum was forever grateful for this fact.

Unfortunately right now, the young prince was worried sharp pointy things would be thrown at him at any second.

"UGGGH! Stupid, soddin', aggravatin', pain in the arse! Is it too much to ask for a bloody break? I never thought I'd say this but Mother Nature can be a pain at times!"

Rayla's aggravated scream was followed by a violent hurling of one of her blades. The gleaming blade shot like an arrow at a barrel; jutting out of its center and spilling its liquid contents.

"Well that looked very…therapeutic!" Callsum said enthusiastically; forcing a smile. The Moonshadow elf had been raging ever since she found out they couldn't sail yet due to stormy weather. No other captain would take an elf on board so they have no choice but to wait. "Now that you've got your barrel murdering out of your system, how about we take a breather and just cool it down, okay?"

"But we don't have _time_ to just 'cool it down'" she said with air quotes. The white haired girl stomped over and yanked her blade out of the barrel. "Have ya not listened to a thin' I've said? We've got to get Zym back to Xadia as soon as possible. Gettin' boat blocked by a soddin' storm just mucks our plans up somethin' fierce." She slumped on her teal suited rump, leaning back against the alleyway wall.

The tiny thunder dragon happily chirped in response. It must be nice to be so blissfully happy all the time, the elf thought.

"I want to get moving too but we can't go blindly sailing into a storm, it's the truth; our _blind _captain said so and he's clearly _seen _it all," Callum joked. The prince extended his arms, broadening his smile in a desperate attempt to see one on Rayla's face.

She stared deadpanned at the boy's dead-on-arrival attempts at humor.

"I'm gonna knock yer block off if ya ever say somethin' like that again," she said dryly. While she usually found the prince's unique band of humor oddly endearing, at this very moment, it was downright headache-inducing.

"Yeah, he has that effect on pretty much every girl I've seen him talk to," Ezran said smugly.

Callum's face morphed into a slight frown. The fact Rayla half smirked at that comment only added to his irritation. He quickly pulled out his sketchbook and flipped to a very "special" drawing.

"And on a completely unrelated note, take a look at the best sketch I've ever done of Ezran" he gleamed proudly.

"What the-"

Much to the elf and younger prince's shock (and disgust), Callum had drawn a spectacularly beautifully drawn sketch of a younger Ezran removing a booger from his nostril and feeding it to Bait as if it were a treat.

"Cal how could you?! You swore you'd never tell anyone," the dark skinned prince barked.

"And I didn't. I didn't tell anyone…buuuuut you never said anything about showing anyone," he wryly replied. The impish smile on the older prince's face reeked of mischief and twisted glee.

"Why did you even WANT to sketch something like that in the first place?"

"Because we must never forget, brother dear…_never forget_."

Ezran groaned angrily, followed by a few loud grumblings from their lizard friend; Bait. Zym just smiled and panted with his tongue lazily hanging out. Callum looked to Rayla; hoping to see if his art was met with the appropriate criticism from its most important critic.

Rayla didn't know what to say or make of this. Callum just showed her a beautifully hand drawn picture of something utterly stupid and disgusting. This only further added to her confusion at how humans function. They baffled her, they weirded her out even!

"Ye….ye just….all of ye are just so…"

Suddenly, the white haired beauty burst into a roaring sea of laughter. She couldn't help it! She couldn't even remember why she was mad anymore, it didn't matter. Perhaps it was the absurdity of Callum's smug smirk, or Ezran's huffy pouting over such a silly picture, or maybe it was the fact Callum showed her something so bizarre. Whatever it was, it washed away all of her anger and frustrations and left her with warmth and laughter.

Most importantly, it left Rayla with a smile. Callum didn't know much about elves outside what he knew and heard from Rayla. He didn't like their culture's xenophobic views towards humans (even if they did have some valid arguments), and he knew he definitely didn't like the fact they sent killers to end his father's life…but he did like their smiles.

_That was worth it, all just to see that smile. She's way less fun and way more punchy when she's upset. Granted, she's always been punchy but not as kicky? Is that even a word? Am I making sense? Why is Rayla smiling making my brain go crisscross? Is there a point here? This is getting really weird. I should stop talking to myself…but I'm not actually talking to myself. WHAT IS WRONG WITH MY BRAIN?_

"Are ya daft, Callum? I said SNAP OUT OF IT" Rayla shouted.

Callum was jarred out of his weird brain-fart-inner-dialog-thing by a loud female elf's voice and a violent tug on his ear. He winced and rubbed his ear tenderly. Apparently according to the irritated white haired elf in front of him, he'd been spacing out there for like 6 minutes.

"Heh sorry about that, got kind of lost thinking about something." He laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh ya?" she asked; violet eyes twinkling with shades of curiosity. "Well don't keep me waitin, out with it. What was it?" she inched closer, her light pink skin and moon-berry sweet scent having a strange reaction on the boy's complexion.

"Oh uh n-n-nothing much, nothing that made sense anyway," he said with an uneasy chuckle. Callum tugged on his scarf.

"Does it have anythin' to do with yer weird pink-thing finger in yer sketchbook?" She looked down; noticing the boy's pinky finger wedged between the book's contents.

Callum didn't realize she was referring to his pinky finger cause duh, humans; weird 5 fingers and all, until she pointed at his sketchbook. He would have laughed if he hadn't realized _who _those sketches were of that he had bookmarked his finger with.

_Why the Heck did I stop there?! She can't see those!_

He immediately retracted his finger, closed the book and tucked it behind his back. Rayla's face quickly morphed into a sour frown. This really befuddled her. Callum was always eager to show her his works of art, and that's what they were; legitimate art! His talent was beyond beautiful and she felt excited every time he scribbled something new. He always showed her his work. Now he's got some secret section he didn't want her to see? Now she had to see what was inside!

Her trained hands moved quickly, but surprisingly, Callum's were quicker and managed to move the book out of her reach every time she reached for it.

"Come on, let me see!" She dove forward but Callum side stepped out of the way; narrowly dodging her each time. "Ye always let me see yer stuff before, why are these so different? Come, just a peek, eh?" She flashed a puppy-dog smile to Callum.

"Yeah-no sorry I just I just can't. They are um….bad…yeah-YEAH like really, childish quality bad!" he nodded fervently.

"Callum, ya never drew a bad sketch in yer life, ya told me that yerself," she said dryly. The elf crossed her arms over her teal suited chest. She stared flatly at the babbling boy. "What's the big deal, don't ya trust me?"

"I trust you, of course I do, I mean obviously, but-but this it's just, these are REALLY bad and-"

"Ugh just forget it!" she groaned in frustrated and stomped off; pouting more than she'd like to admit. Not being able to look at his sketches shouldn't have irked her this much, but for some odd reason it did. "Ya know if you ye keep actin' this way, no girl is gonna bother yakkin' with ya much less date ya. It's like yer tryin' to drive every lass away from ya."

Callum flinched suddenly. His hands clutched his sketchbook a little tighter than normal; his posture slouched as he sighed heavily. Ezran and Zym looked worriedly at the sullen prince. While the young dragon could sense Callum was sad about something, only Ezran knew the actual reason why.

The Moonshadow elf was too absorbed in her own irritations to notice how unsettled Callum had become by her wounding words.

"Looks like we better find an inn for a few days or somethin', til ya know, weather clears up for sailin'. We got to stay focused and-"

"Yeah-yeah, how about I go take care of that now?" the shaken prince said a little too eagerly. Rayla was about to suggest they stay together but he was already instructing Ez and Zym to hide with Rayla until he gets back. "I'll find us a place, just stay out of trouble and-and sight and yeah…we'll all be good…good-good," he said; trailing off.

The young prince raised his hand to Callum's shoulder; hoping to calm him down to at least talk about what he was feeling. Callum was rattled, rocked to a core Rayla never knew he had; though she was quickly seeing that firsthand.

"Callum, it's okay to talk about this, you don't gotta head off," Ezran said comfortingly.

"Jeez Ez, I'm just finding us a place to stay for a few days. Not much to talk about." Callum stepped away from the group and moved rather briskly deeper into town. Rayla's comforting hand reached out to stop Callum but he moved well past her reach. "No need to thank me Rayla, happy to do it, bye!"

An awkward silence settled among the elf, young prince and his animal companions.

"Well…that was…a wee bit on the strange side," Rayla said; scratching her ivory locks in confusion.

"Yeah, he gets like that whenever he talks about girls or has people talk to him about girls, or you know," Ezran nudged towards Rayla; his poofy hair bouncing wildly, "has a girl _talk _to him about talking about girls."

"Wait wha-what? Are ya sayin' this is MY fault?" she asked incredulously.

Zym and Bait chirped in chorus. Ezran shrugged, followed by a quick little nod.

"Hold it, just hold it" Rayla pressed her fingers against her temple. This sudden realization she had shamed Callum just now wasn't processing properly. She felt like she just stepped on some sort of bomb everyone knew about but her. She wasn't THAT clueless! "I know Claudia was like his 'big crush' and all but I didn't think he was this raw about it. That can't be what this is all about."

"The thing is Claudia wasn't just his biggest crush…she was his _only _crush." Zym chirped impatiently in Ezran's arms. The dragon prince spotted a cricket and was eager to chase it around. Ezran set him down and let him scamper around and play. Bait rolled his eyes at the dragon's juvenile behavior and stayed by Ez.

"Callum was always viewed as the weird one by others, especially girls. Anyone who didn't really take the time to get to know him thought some of his drawings were invasive and pervy, like, he was doing something bad or without permission. Plus there's the things Soren said about him being a 'step-prince' and always making him feel like he wasn't a _real _prince," Ezran explained.

"Wow…I uh…had no idea," Rayla exhaled softly.

Guess that really was what this was all about. Guess she really WAS that clueless.

"He doesn't like to talk about it. Cal is really smart and funny and usually always knows what to say, but when it comes to this stuff it's kind of scary to him. I'm the only one he's told all this to, that's how I knew what he was freaking out over," he replied; munching on a piece of sun bread.

The elf's words flashed back in her mind like a lightning bolt. She remembered the last thing she said before Callum got all squirrely, it _was_ her fault! Of course that would set him off!

"Ah bloody Hell; I've got to go to fix this. Not fair to leave Callum like that." She scratched her chin idly before looking to the younger prince dropping chunks of bread into Bait's bulldog-like maw. "Any ideas on how to do that by chance?" she asked.

"Nah this is grown up gross stuff. Never saw what the big deal about girls was," Ezran said bluntly.

"Gee thanks," Rayla said with a low grumble.

She wasn't really miffed at Ez. He was still a kid; this stuff is over his head…over hers too. What was she going to do? Talking about girls and feelings with a boy is dangerously out of her comfort zone, not to mention her realm of expertise. She barely spoke about anything personal with anyone, except maybe Runaan and it was certainly wasn't about anything like this.

_I don't know what to do. Everythin' I know goes back to the mission: takin' Zym back to Xadia, protectin' Callum and Ez, battling soldiers; easy stuff! But this…this is just makin' my head get all blurry._

Perhaps she was thinking about this all wrong. She knows Callum, and he knows her; this should be easy! She remembered when he offered to take the long way to Xadia and forgo the boat altogether. The thought brought a smile to her face. He knew all too well how she felt about water. He could have easily teased her about it some more or pushed they go by boat, but he didn't. He took time to think about her feelings and what would make her more comfortable.

That's just the kind of guy Callum is.

"I've…put them through a lot…haven't I?" she asked herself aloud.

She had uprooted the boys from their home on the night their father was killed, a murder _she _played a part in. Though not intentionally, she had become the pivotal figure in taking them away from their lives. Their parents were gone, the kingdom was in chaos, their friends turned on them and now…the one girl Callum had a crush on was his enemy.

WHAM!

Rayla's fist suddenly smashed into a stone wall, she winced slightly. She felt pain coursing through her knuckles, but also, an inexplicable sense of satisfaction. The Moonshadow elf imagined it was Claudia's face on that wall.

Yes, Claudia, stupid, lying, emo, crappy purple-highlights-in-my-tacky-looking-hair, _Claudia_.

"She owes Callum a boat load of apologies for all the hurt she's put em through," she growled coldly. The more she thought of Callum, the more hatred she felt brewing towards that two-faced witch! "Least I can do is get help him get that soddin' snake off his mind."

Ezran blinked curiously. Rayla's sudden wall punch and silent murmurings distracted him from Zym and Bait's shenanigans.

"Did you say something Rayla?" the prince unconsciously tilted his head to the side; just like Zym. He barely noticed he was mimicking some of the animals' mannerisms.

Rayla turned around with a sudden whoosh of her cloak. She wrapped it around her shoulders and posed dramatically, much to Zym, Bait and Ezran's amusement.

"Hello human fellows, fellow humans! I'm going to invite a fellow human on an overly priced and overly sappy dinner. We shall enjoy awkward conversations and complain about annoyin' weather changes and other things we can't do anythin' about," Rayla said boomingly.

"That's hilarious! Great idea Rayla, Callum could use a comedy act to cheer him up," Ezran clapped eagerly. He had always been a fan of Rayla's exaggerated 'human impression.'

The elf's stance wilted slightly. She drooped down her cloak; looking disappointed.

"Comedy act? Umm I'm being serious Ezran. That's me actin' under cover. You know, blendin' in with humans in public?" she said assuredly.

Ezran slowly processed her words. He didn't want to believe it at first. Rayla couldn't have seriously been serious when she was calling _that _a realistic impression of a human…was she?

"Oh….no….no-no…yeah…no," he said; dumbfounded.

"Sigh fine! Then what would ye suggest?" she irritably inquired.

Ezran looked to his council of advisors for suggestions: namely the baby dragon and grumpy lizard that had only been half-listening to Rayla's question. Zym chirped a few loud yaps followed by Bait grumbling lowly.

"That sounds like a great idea guys, let's give it a try," Ezran cheered brightly.

"This is going to be much worse than I think it is, isn't it?" she rubbed the side of her arm anxiously. She didn't like where this was going.

* * *

Callum sighed brokenly. Everything about today just seemed to be dreary, one sad, gloomy, dreary day and nothing could pull him out of it. He tapped his pencil idly at the blank sketch page. Drawing usually cheered him up. He could bury himself into a vivid sketch and lose track of time scribbling away, but not today. Today he just couldn't find his muse. He closed his book up and packed away his drawing tools.

"What am I doing here? I'm not even that hungry," he tapped his fingers idly on the wooden surface of the outdoor café table. The prince's eyes lazily surveyed his surroundings; finding nothing but other people eating lunch and looking a million times happier than him. It was starting to get irritating. "This better not be Ez's idea of a prank to get back at me for showing that booger drawing."

None of this made sense. Soon as Callum got back securing the cheapest inn they could stay at until their blind captain decreed it was safe sailing weather, Ezran wouldn't tell him where Rayla was. He and the animals had some kind of all knowing-inside-joke-thing going on. The only thing his brother said was that Rayla was going to meet him at this specific café, at this specific table, at this specific time and that he needed to 'look dapper.'

"I don't know what he's got planned but I'm not in the mood for it. Think I'll go back to the inn and meet up with Ez; find out what all this nonsense is about," he said gloomily. Callum gathered up his things and was about to leave.

"Is this seat taken?"

"I know that voice," he said; eyes widening slowly in disbelief.

He'd recognize that Moonshadow elf's accent anywhere. _Rayla_. The young mage slowly looked up at his female friend, only instead of her usual cloak and teal bodysuit; Rayla was wearing something definitely more…_human_?

She was wearing a white, short sleeved blouse with puffy sleeves; ending at the elbow with cream colored ruffled cuffs. The blouse was covered by a brick red vest with cross stitching with black thread over the front and a purple train with faint yellow zig zag lines. Her ears and horns were covered by a flat-looking, frumpy red bonnet with similar designs and colors as the vest. Her pale, creamy beautiful skin exposed along her arms and just below her knees. The skirt was longer than most skirts; dark purple in color and covered by a white apron like cover. The same purple train on the bonnet and vest hung lowly from the skirt. A simple pair of black, ordinary looking shoes adorned her feet.

"Hello there fellow human, fine day for a bite; don't ya think?" she asked cheerily. In fact, her smile was so wide and gleaming; it looked like it was hurting her cheeks.

Callm's jaw dropped almost immediately. His pencil and sketchbook clattered to the ground, his hands becoming too stunned to maintain his grip.

He didn't have the slightest clue what was going on or what to say.

Rayla sighed and tugged on the bonnet; causing a strand of white hair to fall in front of her face. She blew it away with a huff. "It's the hat, right? The hat's too much."

* * *

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_**Author: Wow! I gotta say, I have NEVER gotten so many people favoriting and following a story of mine THAT fast! Thank you guys SO much. Its just the pick me up I needed. Things have been very stressful in RL, which is why it's taken me so long to finish this chapter. My house got mold, needed to clean it, put new windows in, fix drywall, paint etc. It's been a disaster and all around Christmas! Anyways enough about me, so glad your liking the story. Reviews, comments, questions are HIGHLY welcomed and VERY MUCH appreciated! Oh and to answer "Chunky Funky Munky's" question, I was combining the season episodes together, that's how I came up with episode 13. Enjoy!**_

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Callum was at a loss.

He didn't know how to react; he didn't know how _anyone _would react to this highly unusual situation.

Was he supposed to laugh? Was this a joke, like an attempt to cheer him up? Was Rayla perfecting her human impression? What is he supposed to make of this?!

"All right, come on then, out with it," Rayla said dryly.

"Sorry, I just…I need a minute. There is A LOT to unload here," he said; laughing uneasily. He couldn't stop rubbing the back of his neck. The elf's burrowing stare caused all kinds of emotions to whir inside of him.

"Ye can be honest if this looks ridiculous, cause I got news for ya: I feel pretty bloody silly so just get yer jollies out of it already," she said with a slight grunt of exasperation.

The young prince bit his lip. He was trying to be very careful with his next few words. Though the blade-wielding elf said he could poke fun at her absurd outfit, he also knew how quick she was to temper and didn't want to incur any-

"Oh who am I kidding? What in the world are you wearing?" he asked; unable to contain his uprooting laughter.

His face turned as red as his scarf. Rayla scowled in annoyance. The boy saw this and tried to compose himself, but one look at her in that get up caused him to laugh hysterically once more.

"I'm sorry, really I am but, who dressed you?! You look like you're supposed to be fetching a pale of water from a well on some farm, or-or skipping through a field picking sunflowers," he said; wiping tears from his eyes.

"CALLUM!" she barked curtly.

She slammed a not-so-lady-like fist into the table; quaking it and silencing the young mage's laughter abruptly. Despite trying to keep a low profile, Callum's reaction to Rayla's outfit and her reaction to his laughter drew even more eyes and ears towards them than expected. A red haired waitress huffed in annoyance at the commotion. She flashed a punishing, brown eyed glare at the bickering pair and assured them she'd service their table as soon as she was done cleaning up her current one. Rayla and Callum quickly apologized and kept their voices low.

"Look, I said ye could laugh but not bust a gut laughin' like a babblin' fool!" she hushed sternly. Callum's laughing fit had all but vanished by the looks of it. Good thing too. She had to remember, she was trying to apologize to him; even if he was making it difficult. "The reason I asked ye here to talk is-"

"Hang on, one second; this is going to drive me nuts if I don't do something." He reached out towards Rayla's head.

Her eyes widened visibly, what was he doing? She panicked and pulled back. The Moonshadow elf was about to verbalize her concern but then, he said something that caught her off guard.

"You trust me, right?" he asked softly.

"….Yes."

Rayla surprised herself. She responded almost immediately. Normally, she'd take a moment or two to process a question like that. As good natured as she is, she knows there is only so much she can share and trust to others. She's received plenty of pain from trusting others in the past. But there was something so assuring about his voice, not mention his eyes. Callum's smile evaporated her doubts; they crumbled like pastries under the warmth and glowing sincerity beaming from his youthful face.

"There, that looks much better." He finished his work and sat back down. The smile on the boy's face grew a little bit wider now.

"What did ye do?" she asked.

Apparently, she had been lost in that little moment to the point she didn't realize he did anything. She felt around her face and head; trying to find out what Callum changed.

"I fixed the bonnet into a makeshift bandana. I know it makes your horns stick out a bit more, but everyone will just think it's your hair or something," he said casually.

"Oooookay but what was the point of changing it?" she asked; a twinge of slight annoyance in her voice.

"I couldn't see your eyes clearly," he said matter-of-factly. His words brought a blushing redness to the elf girl's face. She continued to fumble with the bonnet, slowly realizing what he was saying and why he said it. "I always thought you had pretty eyes and didn't want them blocked or anything. I mean, I know you could still see and all, obviously; I mean how else would you get here if you couldn't but…um…but yeah you-you get the idea."

"Wow…I uh…really? I uh…heh…didn't know you um." She babbled fumblingly. It was hard to believe he looked at her that often to notice something like that. Of course, they traveled together so hard obviously it wouldn't be THAT hard to notice her but still, it was nice to hear. "Thanks, Callum."

"Of course," he bent down and picked up his art supplies and sketchpad. Callum looked back to Rayla without a hint or crack of a smirk on his face. "So, why did you want to meet me here?"

"Oh, right! Look, I wanted to talk to you about what I-"

Before she could explain, the firm footsteps of the highly irritated waitress cut into their conversation. Her muddy brown eyes glared fumingly at the Katolis prince and Moonshadow elf.

"Are you two ready to order something, or would you like me to come back after you've finished recovering from whatever _hilarious _joke you felt everyone needed to hear about?" she sneered.

"Heh yeah sorry about that, we promise we'll be quiet from now on. Could we have two number 12's and two number 8's please?" he asked; almost pleadingly.

The waitress grunted irritably in response. She forcefully took the menus from Rayla and Callum and briskly walked away to fulfill their orders.

"Do I dare ask what yer about to poison me with?" she asked. Rayla's tone was anything but serious, the half-smile on her lips betrayed any concern behind her question.

"This from the same person who calls that moon berry juice stuff actually edible?" he replied. He laughed as Rayla teasingly punched him in the arm.

"So the reason I called ye out here was I wanted to apologize." Her words visibly confused the boy. He adjusted his signature red scarf and leaned closer, hoping to understand her better. "I was talkin' out my arse earlier about girls not likin' ye, I had no right to say somethin' that cruel." Callum's face stiffened a little before softening; sighing heavily. He almost forgot. "I'm really sorry, Callum. I thought comin' here to talk would be a nice way of makin' amends."

"Oh hey-hey that wasn't a big deal, really; totally forgotten. You don't have to worry about me or any of that." He batted his fist against his chest; puffing it out. "I'm made of tougher stuff than that."

The gesture made Rayla giggle. Callum always felt a little bit happier inside whenever he heard her laugh.

"Aye, yer the toughest jelly tart I know," she playfully joked.

"Actually, it's tough cookie but I'll take what I can get," he laughed softly.

"I know things have been crazy lately, so I thought I could take yer mind off certain events by comin' here. Don't know a thing bout this place but figured since we got some time before we," she made a gagging face before continuing, "_sail _off; you could show me what human food has to offer besides jelly tarts and rock hard sun bread."

Callum laughed at the realization that that was literally all they had been eating lately, that and that nauseating moon berry juice. Eating out was a much more preferable activity than running for their lives from dark magic and people shoving pointy things in their face.

"Thanks Rayla, this is really sweet of you," she smiled at his warm grin; this was the prince she knew and liked to see. "You know it's funny, probably looks like were on a date," he said with a chuckle.

The pair burst out laughing. They both knew that was a ridiculous idea, they didn't look at all like a couple on a date…did they? Soon their laughter died down and Rayla and Callum were suddenly struck with warm red blushes flushing across their face. The silence became deafening. Neither one knew what to say or how to react. Callum idly drummed his fingers on the table and Rayla fidgeted with her white locks under her bonnet.

The young prince broke the silence first with an awkward and clearly anxious loaded laugh.

"I mean that's not what this is, right? It's not a date? Oh no wait…it is…IT IS isn't it? Oh man, that's what you meant right?"

"Um yes err I mean no, I mean, I uh didn't think about the uh…I mean…it's fine really, right? We don't need labels on it…that's assumin' _this _isn't anythin' but just friends and food and…you know?"

"Right, right, no I completely agree! I get what you were trying to do: just cheer me up, not a real romantic date-date or anything like that."

"Yes! Yer right, absolutely, totally just friends hangin' out and that's it."

"Obviously, and that's cool, super great, 100% totally happy with everything happening. Not feeling confused whatsoever!"

Like a stiff breeze, the silence crept in and washed over them once more. The Moonshadow elf didn't think it was possible but now things seemed even _more _awkward than before. They tried to avoid looking at one another, idling themselves with glances around the café or the sky; anything to ditch the current subject.

"Actually," Callum coughed lightly; catching Rayla's attention.

"Yes?" she inquired.

"Actually, I was thinking that…no…forget it…it's really stupid and weird and you wouldn't want to-"

The boy's rambling stopped cold at the feeling of something warm touching his hand. He felt an even number of fingers gently holding his own. They felt chapped, slightly cracked from holding weapons, but still carrying a warm, softness that was comforting. He looked up to see Rayla looking fondly at him with her 4 fingers locking with his 5.

"Callum, ye can be a bit of a dummy at times and yes, yer especially weird for a human," he laughed softly, "but I've never thought anythin' you had to say was stupid." His green eyes shimmered slightly. He looked at her; seeking confirmation. "Please, tell me, I want to hear."

He felt his fear and anxieties vanish as if they were nothing but a bad dream. It always amazed him how Rayla seemed to simultaneously calm and scare him so naturally, it was the same kind of feeling he felt whenever he practiced magic. He sighed calmly and felt more relaxed about speaking his mind.

"Being a step prince, I always felt that my only chance for anyone to like me was someone who knew me in that particular circle, Like Claudia." Rayla did her best to hide her visible sneers upon hearing that poisonous name. "No one gave me a second glance because they thought my drawings were me acting like a stalker and being creepy. After my mom married my stepdad, girls only liked me for my royal connections. They all pretty much kept their distance once I made it clear that wasn't okay with me," his eyes slowly fixated on Rayla's hand over his.

"Why would ye think I'd find any of that stupid or weird, Callum?" she asked tenderly.

"Because aside from that….whatever-it-was Claudia and I had at the Moon Nexus, this is the only thing I've ever had that resembled a real actual date." Rayla's eyes widened slightly. Callum noticed this and quickly tried to put her at ease. "B-b-b-but don't worry, I'm not saying it _has _to be a date; it can be a pretend one! I just wanted to tell you that I liked this idea and well," he rubbed the back of his head; fidgeting. "I like that I'm doing it with you."

Rayla's cheeks couldn't help but grow warm and red at such sweet words. Callum spoke with clear inexperience and uncertainty in his voice. He rambled and jumbled his words; clearly having trouble putting them into a cohesive context sometimes.

That wasn't a little bit strange for her to see in the young prince's behavior.

When they first met, it was Callum's simple-yet-wise words about ending the cycle of hate and war that convinced her to follow a different path and returning the dragon prince to end the war. He spoke so maturely and intelligently. He probably didn't even know it, but he was more knowledgeable and understanding than all the adults on both sides put together. Yet here he was, trying to talk about his feelings and girls and babbling like a chattering parrot.

It was un-expectantly adorable.

"I like this too…yah…I think I like it quite a bit," the elf said sweetly.

"Well that's a relief. So, I gotta be honest, I'm curious what going on a date is like with Moonshadow elves," he said casually. Rayla's face stiffened visibly. It was a perfectly reasonable question to ask, but it seemed to be rubbing Rayla the wrong way none the less. "Maybe you could tell me what dates you've been on were like and I can try to, I don't know; make it feel more natural?"

Her eye twitched irritably at that word: date_s_. What about her says she's been on that many to be some kind of expert? She crossed her arms tightly over her chest. A look of anger flashed over her purple eyes, Callum felt like he could see it sizzling down her cheek marks.

"Um Rayla, are you all right?" he asked hesitantly.

"Ye really think assassins have the time to go on dates, hm? Ye think we can just cram it in between bow practice and blade wieldin?" her tone escalated heatedly the more she spoke. Callum felt like a plant, withering down into a tiny sprout in the growing magnitude of her anger. "Not like we got loads of time to spare, Callum! We were too busy trainin' to care if some stupid, thick headed, inconsiderate jerk even gave us a second glance; much less ask us if we'd be interested in a bloody night out!" She slammed her hands on the table, leaning forward.

"Whoa, whoa, let's step back for a minute," his eyes darted left and right nervously. People were starting to look at them again. It's like everyone's eyes had to be sucked into their little argument, like everything else wasn't as important as seeing two kids scream and shout at each other in public. "That's not what I meant at all!"

"Then what did ya mean? Come on Callum, I'm dyin' to hear this one." She leaned back with an angry huff; scoffing scathingly.

"All I meant was I figured you had lots of date experience because I figured a girl as beautiful as you got asked out a lot," he said; sighing with relief. He felt like he had started a forest fire with that suggestion. Callum tugged at his scarf and wiped his brow.

And once again, the boy's words had shocked her to her core. Ryala's anger and irritation all but melted and morphed into an enveloping warm glow that filled her up inside with a surge of joy and uneasiness. She felt her cheeks turn red once again. She felt like she was turning into a tomato she was red so often.

"You…you…really think I'm," she struggled to say the next word. It felt foreign on her tongue. Rayla struggled to even process it she was so flummoxed and caught off guard, a feeling she only really ever felt around Callum it seemed. "_Beautiful_?" she breathed out.

"Well…yeah…I kind of always thought so. I mean," he fidgeted with his fingers. Eyes locked squarely on his feet as if they were the most fascinating thing in the world right now. "I just thought that people knew that, like it was obvious. That's why I figured you'd been asked out before."

Such a sweet boy, she thought. He really was the kindest human she had ever met.

"I've actually never been on a date before either," Callum's eyes lifted up upon hearing that, "After my parents left their post, I was viewed with the same disrespect and disdain as them. It's like everythin' I know is affected by their cowardice," she clenched her fists discretely. Callum knew she never liked speaking about her parents.

"Rayla, I'm so sorry. I can't believe they would just close you off like that."

She shrugged and offered a weak smile. "It sounds harsh but it's all I've known, Callum. Our duty is sacred and those that abandon their duty aren't given respect or acknowledgement." Her smile widened; thinking about Runaan and his husband raising her. Such happy memories came flooding back. "Once Runaan took me in, I thought becomin' an assassin would wipe my slate clean and improve my image. Never did though. No boy wanted to date a girl from a cowardly family, much less an assassin who doesn't have the guts to, you know, do her job."

"I'm glad you didn't. If you did, then we wouldn't be able to be here today; sitting and talking," he said with a fond smile.

"I'm glad too, Callum," she said sweetly.

"That phrase you mentioned: having the guts to kill? I never really liked that phrase. It implies that it takes strength to take a life, but from what I've seen, killing is all too easy. I've always felt the reverse is a true sign of strength," he said firmly.

"What do you mean?"

"One of the things that always bothered me about magic is that it always seemed like humans were limited to dark magic, end of discussion. I've seen Claudia take the life of other creatures to use magic and I just….I just can't get behind that. Every life is precious. What good is spellcasting if something or someone has to die to get it? That's why I don't think it takes guts to be an assassin or a dark mage; I think it takes more guts to _not _kill; to find a different way of doing things. Yeah it's a lot more difficult and makes things stressful but I always felt it was worth it," he explained clearly.

Rayla felt a strong urge to bite her lip all of the sudden. She unconsciously inched her seat closer to Callum's.

"You know, when you first told me you were Ezran; I couldn't believe a human would put his own life on the line for someone else. It was so crazy and selfless; totally unlike what I heard humans were like," she looked tenderly into his emerald eyes. A faint pink glow flushed across her cheeks. "That was an incredibly brave thing to do."

"He's my brother, I'd do anything for him," he said fearlessly.

"And him you, he's the one who convinced me to come out here to talk to you."

"Is he also the one who chose that outfit?" he couldn't resist sporting a growing smirk.

Rayla rolled her eyes and groaned. The groan quickly turned into a chuckle, she couldn't believe she let Ezran pick this for her.

"He said it was the best fit for me, whatever that means. Still can't believe human girls walk around in such bloody things," she complained. Rayla tugged on the uncomfortable bonnet and skirt. She felt so restricted and confined. "How does anyone honestly expect to move or fight wearin' this stuff?" she inquired.

"Girls don't typically expect to run into combat situations wearing dresses. My Aunt Amaya almost never takes her armor off, she'd never be caught dead wearing something like that," Callum replied with a chuckle.

"Sounds like a kindred spirit if you ask me," she smirked proudly. She knew the fierce general wanted her dead for "kidnapping" her nephews, but she couldn't help but admire Amaya's skill and strength.

The waitress returned with their orders, that scowl still seemed permanently etched on her face. She placed two mugs with warm brown liquid inside before Rayla and Callum, along with two sandwiches. Her eyes looked towards the young couple suspiciously; curious if they were going to make another obnoxious scene before her shift was done. Thankfully, they disappointed her.

"Enjoy your food and drinks…_quietly_ please," she grumbled before leaving.

Rayla curiously examined what had been mysteriously ordered for her. One was a sandwich; pretty basic and standard. The drink however, that was a real mystery. There was a warm, brown liquid inside but it had a sweet, candy like aroma to it.

"Do I even want to know what this is?" she asked; cautiously examining the mug.

"It's called hot chocolate. Usually people serve this around winter season, but this is the only place I've found that serves it year round. It's really popular," he smiled broadly. He took a bite of his sandwich before taking a sip of his warm drink. He groaned in blissful content. "Ooh I missed that taste," he sighed.

The elf still looked uncertain. This drink sounded all too similar to that hot brown morning potion Claudia made that Callum had mentioned; anything to do with that woman she wanted to avoid. Still, Callum insisted it was good and she trusted him.

"If you say so," she replied.

Rayla took a tentative sip. She beamed brightly, it was delicious! True, it was a still a bit hot being freshly poured and all, but she was all too eager to taste some more. A few gulps later and she was right there with Callum. Her tongue lazily licked across her lips; savoring every chocolaty drop.

"Okay, we definitely need this in Xadia!" She continued drinking until her mug was empty. Every sip widened her smile more and more; a sight Callum thoroughly drank in.

Callum took another bite of his sandwich shortly after Rayla took a bite of hers. He felt more and more comfortable with her with each passing moment. He couldn't believe humans had such a problem with elves. What's the difference? How could anyone hold a grudge against someone as amazing and wonderful as Rayla just because of what race she was born into? It felt so easy and natural to talk to her.

Maybe it's because it's _Rayla_, maybe that's what makes it so easy…

"Here," Callum offered his sketchbook to Rayla; finger noticeably placed in the specific page section he had hidden from her before. "I feel a whole lot better showing this to you now."

Rayla paused from her meal to take notice of Callum's cherished sketchbook being presented to her. She remembered all too well how reluctant he was to show her what was inside earlier. Her four fingers slowly grasped the book; violet eyes seeking confirmation.

He smiled and nodded. Callum slowly removed his finger from the bookmarked section; inadvertently brushing his hand across hers. The experience left both adorably red in the face.

"Thank you Callum," she said; genuinely and kindly. Rayla slowly started to flip through the pages. She was careful not to taint the book with any sandwich crumbs or chocolate splashes. She knew all too well how precious it was to him. "Can I ask why you were hesitant to show me em before?" she inquired.

"You'll see," his face flashed red once again.

Though his answer was cryptic, Rayla figured she'd find out soon enough what he meant. She turned the page and her violet eyes sparkled with a startling surprise.

She understood now.

"Callum…these are drawings of…_me_."

Not just any drawings of her, they were _beautiful _drawings of her. Each sketch depicted her doing something different. One was her sitting and eating a piece of fruit, one was her perched on a tree branch; looking out to scout ahead, there was even one of her just looking forward; smiling contently at the sky. She could tell some sketches were done quicker than others. No doubt due to being on the move, but even still, the line work and the way he captured her physical features was nothing short of breathtaking. Callum had taken the most mundane and simplistic tasks performed and turned them into a work of art…well…more like turned _her _into a work of art.

It made perfect sense why Callum was hesitant to show her these.

Looking at these, she couldn't see how any girl could be so narrow minded to dismiss Callum as some sort of perverted peeper. Each page depicted her in such a majestic and angelic manner; she couldn't believe _this _was how he saw her. Granted, she found one drawing of her sleeping on her hands as a makeshift pillow. In that regard, she could see how some would find it a little invasive.

But every time she looked at Callum's work and then at his face, she could find no anger or sense of violation stirring inside of her. The one of her sleeping made her look like a slumbering angel. There was more than just vivid realism to his work, there was sweetness and tenderness to it as well.

Callum looked a Rayla apprehensively. He was clearly concerned about her reaction. Either fearing a harsh criticism on the quality of his work, or more likely, fearing a slap or having a drink splashed into his face for his supposed 'dirty' drawings.

Much to his relief, the young prince received a completely different reaction.

"Is this…really how you see me?" she asked. She bit her lip, trying to hide her hopeful smile behind the sketchbook.

"Yeah, pretty much. I've done plenty of sketches of people before but I never really found myself as inspired when I draw people until I started drawing you," he tapped his fingers idly. His hesitation was still evident in his voice but gradually reduced the more he spoke; growing more confident and passionate. "It wasn't always easy. We were always busy or hiding or fighting so I had to start a baseline; then come back and recreate it from memory. Not to mention I was trying to be discrete for obvious reasons."

"Wait, you mean you came back to finish some of these based on just yer memory?" she asked; her jaw dropping slightly.

"Some were easier than others but, yeah, I've always had a really good memory when it comes to sketching things," he laughed bashfully. He noticed she had paused on the page with the sketch of her sleeping.

She looked down at the sketch and then back to Callum.

"So…tell me the truth: do you think their creepy?" he asked; sincerely yet hesitant. He observed that Rayla's reactions thus far had not specifically clarified how she felt about the drawings.

"Callum," she said in a surprisingly stern voice. He winced and prepared for the worst. "Don't you ever let anyone call your drawings creepy again," his eyes slowly opened as Rayla's tone softened. "These are absolutely beautiful, Callum. You've got such a wonderful gift. To tell ya the truth, I'm honored you would use me as a model like this," she smiled admiringly.

"What can I say? I love drawing you," his cheeks flourished with another blush. He wasn't sure if it had been too bold to say "love drawing you" instead of "like drawing you," but something inside him felt a little bit happier for speaking the former.

"Callum…"

Rayla's hand reached towards the chocolate haired prince's face as she began to spoke. She continued to lean closer, so close that she hadn't realized her dress had been caught on a bent nail head under the table.

RIP!

The sound of cloth ripping echoed through the air, shattering the serene quietness of the day. Rayla and Callum stared at each other; blinking until their eyes followed down towards the source of that noise. The elf girl sighed miserably and rolled her eyes.

"Bloody useless things," she stood up and tugged on the skirt; trying to rip it free. "I've had it up to here with this silly, soddin' outfit," she grunted irritably.

The Moonshadow backed away from Callum, stood up and proceeded to aggressively try and rip the skirt off of the bent nail dead. Rayla's anger continued to increase every time the skirt refused to break free. That familiar red headed waitress could be seen sending glares and scowls their way once she saw where the disturbance was coming from, yet again. Callum tried to calm Rayla down but she was fiercely determined to fix this situation her way.

RIP! RIP!

"Hmm, well not what I was hopin' would happen but it's an improvement," Rayla said casually.

Callum felt like his face was about to burst into flames.

Rayla had ripped majority of her skirt off; tossing the large shredded chunk to the ground with not one speck of concern. The elf girl also seemed to have no concerns about how her body was being presented before Callum now.

"You…just…that…LEGS!" he exclaimed; turning even redder if it was possible.

Indeed, Rayla's bare legs were now fully exposed to Callum's alarmed eyes and the rest of the visible world. Rayla always walked around in a very concealing, skin tight teal outfit, which meant very little of her skin was actually exposed. Though the outfit left her curves and firm, shapely muscles quite noticeable, there was always a sense of mystery to her body's appearance.

"Yeah, I have em, last time I checked so do you," Rayla said dryly. Despite everyone's gasps and silent mutterings about how indecent she was being, Rayla didn't see what the big deal was.

Callum didn't hear a single word she said. All he could do was stare longingly at her smooth, pale, milky legs that shimmered in the sunlight. Her thighs were firm, toned, yet held a smooth suppleness that had not been oversaturated with bulging muscles. The prince was rather shocked at how immaculate and glimmering her legs were. With all her training and combat experience, he expected to see a lot of scars and bruising but Rayla's skin was angelically sculpted without a single blemish or patch of dry skin. Her calves held the perfect amount of muscle and shapeliness that dreamily poured down into her boots.

"Callum, is something wrong?" Rayla asked.

He babbled incoherently. He waved his hand in front of his face; like his body was on auto pilot until his brain rebooted.

"Is this like a weird-human thing or just a Callum thing?" she leaned to the side; resting her hand on her hip. Her position unknowingly exposed more of her thighs to Callum's wandering eyes.

"I NEED TO BREAK, ER BATHROOM, REST, BREAK. SORRY!" he blurted out; far louder than he intended. Callum bolted from the table to the nearest restroom, leaving Rayla thoroughly confused.

"Ahem!"

The elf girl turned to find the familiar, frightening face of that irritable waitress standing right there; angrily crossing her forearms. She steamed audible as she tapped her arm impatiently with her finger.

"Oh um hi again," Rayla sheepishly tucked a strand of her hair back, "this looks really bad, I can admit that." She tried explaining what had happened but the waitress didn't seem to care for her excuses anymore. "See the thing is; Callum had all the money so if you don't mind waitin' for him, we'll of course pay for everythin'."

"My manager _strongly _informed me that you and your skittish boyfriend can forget paying, if you promise to get out and don't come back!" she said scathingly.

"Really? Wow thanks, but wait-wait; you think Callum is my-"

"GET OUT ALREADY!"

Rayla nodded frantically and turned to leave. She hated leaving Callum back there to get a vicious earful from that crazed waitress once he came back, but she didn't want to attract any more attention than she already had. She fled to an alleyway between a flower shop and a blacksmiths shop. Despite the disruption it caused, Rayla was very glad she ripped her skirt off; made running away considerably easier.

"Whew that was close. I hope she doesn't scare Callum too badly," she mused laughingly. Rayla placed a finger to her chin. She was still pondering why Callum freaked out like that.

"Huh?"

It was at this time she noticed a sharp, needle like blade sticking out of the side of the flower cart in front of the shop on her right. The craft and make of the blade definitely looked elven. Attached to the blade was a small scroll, she removed it, rolled it out and carefully read it.

"Oh no," her eyes widened as the letter slipped from her fingers, "this is _so _not going to end well."

* * *

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

How's that human expression go?

When it rains, it pours.

Ever since she first stepped into the Human kingdom, Rayla had experienced complication after complication. Failing to kill that sentry, failing to kill Prince Ezran, failing to convince Runaan to stop the assassination on the king, and now, she was failing to keep her cover from being exposed. This time however, it was a fellow Moonshadow elf who was risking revealing her inhuman identity to this town's less-than-accepting populace.

Vivid memories of that man wielding a blade from the sunfire elves came flooding back. Those dreadful reminders of her culture's monstrous reputation made her lips frown with sour disgust. That was exactly how he looked at her: _sour disgust_. All she needed was his help to cut the binding off, and instead, he acted like she was going to rob or murder him in cold blood. She returned to the shadows between the stores; using its secluded corners and shadows to conceal her as she donned her cloak once more.

"Really wish I had time to go back and change out of this-this clown suit," she grumbled to no one in particular. If it was Runaan who sent this letter, she knew she'd be skewered on the spot for wearing 'filthy' human clothing.

Still…

The thought of meeting a grizzly end at the cold steel of Runaan's vengeful blades almost seemed worth it to see that ridiculous, goofball look on Callum's face at the restaurant. It was oddly comforting, though, she didn't know why. Her cheeks redden like freshly cut strawberries thinking of his bumbling awkwardness when he saw her legs exposed from the torn skirt.

_Ezran mentioned that Callum used to stare at Claudia and fumble around her too, just like he did with me. I guess I just can't fathom what he ever saw in her. I mean she's not THAT pretty! Plus she's got all those creepy dark robes like her da, uses dark magic…ugh….WHY am I thinkin' so much bout her?!_

"This is not jealousy, not jealousy," she repeated it like it was her new mantra. She found it harder and harder to focus on preparing for this impromptu meeting when words like jealousy, dating, Claudia and _Callum_ brewed in her thoughts like deafening thunder clouds. "Just because I want to shove my blade through her nasty, Soulfang viper twisted face does NOT mean I'm jealous," she hissed whisperingly.

Rayla dared to glance back at the café tables and chairs she and Callum were sitting at mere moments ago. She felt a sense of unease and sadness swell inside of her conflicted heart. It wouldn't be long until Callum came walking out; feeling lost, confused and most hurtful of all: worried. She hated seeing him like this: afraid and concerned. They've been attacked by everything this war torn world could throw at them and it would only be worse if this Moonshadow elf exposed their existence and mission to unfriendly eyes and ears.

"I know yer probably imaginin' all kinds of terrible things have happened to me," she smiled sadly as she watched longingly at their still vacant table. With a mind as creative and artistic as Callum's, she knew he was no doubt concocting all kinds of creative and horrific scenarios Rayla could have fallen victim to. "I hate to do this to ya but I've got to make sure were all safe. I promise I'll come back to ya and Ez…heh…and that grumpy frog too, we still got a mission to complete…_together_," she said.

The frost haired lass vanished like the graceful warrior she was; disappearing from view just as Callum exited the bathroom.

"Rayla? Rayla, where'd you go?" he called out; curiously. His eyes wandered around the immediate area, desperately hoping to see that familiar shade of her exotic, pale creamy skin on her curvaceous yet muscular body and luminous purple orbs. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Rayla made it to the meeting point. She instantly felt the oh-so familiar waves of nausea and irritation washing upon her once she arrived.

"What is it with everyone and the need to be by soddin' water?" she grimaced bitterly.

The note demanded she meet the mysterious messenger at the docks where she and boys had visited not too long ago to procure a ship to continue their quest and return the Dragon Prince to his mother in Xadia. Their travel plans were thoroughly halted by an approaching storm, which also happened to be why the docks served as a perfect meeting place: no one was there. The clouds above were misshapen and foreboding. The sun grew fainter and fainter while the tombstone gray clouds rumbling with thunderous bellows grew closer and louder with each passing moment.

"I don't even want to think bout what it would be like sailin' in _that _nightmare," Rayla uttered. She shivered as she clutched her cloak tightly around her body.

"I knew you lacked heart greenie, but I didn't know you lacked a spine as well," a cool, calloused female voice said. Rayla's eyes widened at the voice. She'd recognize that jagged tone anywhere.

The young elf turned to face her host. There stood _another _female Moonshadow elf. She was slightly taller than Rayla; sporting dark violet horns wrapped in pale grey bindings secured in the back with a chain that rain across her milk white waist length hair. Two small grey hair clips twisted her white locks into braids that dangled on the sides of her cheeks, over her metallic shoulder pads and rested limply on her dark blue vest with light ocean blue lines running across the lines of the shirt collar. Her chocolate brown complexion was marked with two ink blue lines running along her eyes and curving across her cheeks. At the base of her forehead was a curved crescent moon that looked like a curved, uppercase U. Only one hand rested at her hip near a brown belt with a silver crescent moon belt buckle. Her other arm sported a gangly stump tightly concealed in brown bindings. Long blackish boots climbed to mid-thigh; exposing small patches of her muscular and well-toned thighs.

"_Cressla_" Rayla seethed bitterly.

To say she was surprised to see her former fellow assassin had survived the King's guards would be an understatement, but her anger outweighed her surprise. Cressla never wasted a moment shooting dirty glances and venomous snide remarks during their training sessions. She gleefully reminded her of her parent's cowardice as dragon guards whenever she could. Runaan often got an earful from her for bringing such a "green newbie" on such a high profile assassin mission. Even on the very day they departed Xadia, she doubted Rayla's commitment and her courage to go through with it.

Of course she was _right_ but that didn't mean she had to be so vicious about it!

"I see you survived," Rayla flashed her blades in Cressla's direction. She knew she lost her good graces with the Moonshadow elves after she took on Runaan, a decision she does not regret. It brought Callum, Ezran and Zym into her life after all. "A lot's changed since that night ya know? Though, somethin' tells me you haven't," she grunted gruffly.

"Oh you know, a few things here and there," she waved her stump casually; rolling her eyes with a humorless laugh. Cressla's mint colored eyes flashed sharply towards Rayla. "You on the other _hand_ managed to completely change and also remain exactly the same at the same time," she frowned, "It's nauseating really."

Rayla raised an eyebrow at that comment. "How so?" she asked. The young elf never lowered her focus or her blades however. One handed or not, Cressla was a dangerous and deadly warrior who was not to be trifled with or underestimated.

"Look at you, dressed like a human, sitting down and eating lunch at a human restaurant with an _actual _human; acting like one even…try and have _some _pride, Rayla," she angrily spat at the ocean. "I knew you didn't have the guts to take a life but I didn't think you were so fangless you'd stoop to associating yourself with those sludge brained barbarians," Cressla barked.

"I'm sorry for not bein' there for Runaan and you and the others when ye needed me…but I'm _not _sorry for what I did," Rayla declared.

"It's more like what you _didn't_ do that hurts the most," Cressla removed a twisted elven dagger from the back of her belt. She aimed it threateningly at Rayla. Cressla's eyes flashed with fiery levels of brewing hatred. She wanted nothing more to charge towards Rayla and show her what it's like to work with only one set of fingers. "Well, that and _this_…obviously," she motioned towards her missing hand. A menacing smirk appeared on her face. "How did you manage to remove your binding by the way? We both know you didn't kill Prince Ezran otherwise I wouldn't have to resort to such _human _measures to remove it. I'm dying to know," she hissed scathingly.

"Cressla, I'm sorry I really am but this isn't the time or the place for this. The Dragon prince is alive and safe with me and my friends. We're goin' to return him to his mother, were goin' to end this war. There's no need for any more blood to be spilled," she explained.

Cressla strongly disagreed however. Her pent up feelings of anger, frustration and betrayal boiled too hotly in her blood. Scorn and rage burned deep within her very essence. Cressla's sole hand tightly gripped the handle of her curved crescent blade; eager to soak it's cold, lethal metal in traitorous elf blood.

"I don't know whether to be amused or outright insulted." Everything Rayla said was as ludicrous as it was inconceivable. The dragon prince's egg was destroyed by humans, end of story. There was no way those savages would have saved it. Cressla leapt at Rayla. She plunged her blade towards her former teammate; sparks flew as the blades grinded nosily against one another. "Didn't think it was possible but you've gotten even _softer_, traitor!"

Rayla struggled to shove back Cressla. She figured she would have literally the upper hand in this situation, with Cressla wielding only one blade, but Cressla's skill and strength proved formidable even with one hand. The lethal blade inched closer and closer between Rayla's widening violet eyes.

"When I'm done with you, I'll go see this so-called newborn dragon prince for myself and if he truly has hatched, I'll bring him back to Xadia myself," she smirked ruthlessly, "after I've killed those rat brained humans of course!"

Those words sparked an explosive wave of horrific images into Rayla's mind, images of Callum lying face down in a pool of his own blood. That was a nightmare she could not let become reality! She knew she was against the ropes here, she knew Cressla had her pinned, but just thinking about the words "dead" and "Callum" in the sentence stirred a bottomless fury inside of her aching muscles that could not be contained. Rayla summoned strength neither she nor Cressla could comprehend. The young warrior lifted the blades away from her face and slammed her feet into Cressla's stomach. The blow to the gut stunned her for a moment. She doubled over; clutching her gut tightly. Rayla hurled one of her blades at Cressla's head. She knew she'd deflect it with her only arm, which left her distracted and unprepared for a leg sweep. Cressla cried out as she dropped to the ground. Rayla flipped to where her second blade fell, picked it up and quickly kicked Cressla's weapon away from her reach. Cressla was down and defenseless.

"If you put so much as a _single_ nick on Callum's handsome face, I will chop every remainin' piece of you off until you look like a soddin' campfire log," Rayla growled; aiming her twin blades at Cressla's throat.

The sudden realization of those words struck the elf warriors like lightning. Everything froze in place; falling to the wayside as silence escaped their gasping lips. Did they both hear correctly? It seemed so insignificant and yet it spoke volumes of something neither believed existed until this very moment.

Rayla and Cressla broke free from each other. Their stances were equally unbalanced; caught off guard by the sudden situation they found themselves in. Why, why did Rayla say that just now? Or more importantly, why did she only say _Callum's_ name when she threatened Cressa? Of course she'd defend Ezran with her very life as well, so then why was Callum the sole person she singled out like that?

The cold chill of the crashing waves did little to quell the rising warmth flooding across Rayla's cheeks. Cressla loathed humans, the very mention of their species sent waves of revulsion gurgling up to the back of her throat. No matter how much she despised them however, she couldn't deny the nagging sensation of curiosity; starving and aching to know more. The frigid female warrior raised a curious eyebrow at Rayla as she pocketed her lone blade.

"So…are we going to talk about this or-"

"Talk about what? I mean, what-what's there to talk about? Just sayin' don't want ye hurting my friends."

"See it's funny you say _friends _when you only said one name, _one _friend."

"Wha…I…no…nah…that-that can't be right I mean I obviously have more than ONE friend. I mean that's just, just silly."

"I knew you didn't have what it takes to kill them but I didn't think you were daft enough to actually be sweet on those horrid creatures."

"Oh for the love of…you don't even know him!"

Cressla's eyebrow raised, a smug sense of confidence emanated from her domineering glare.

"_Them_,that-that's what I meant to say, you don't even know _them!_"

"So, tell me about this Callum; there must be something especially unique about this primitive piece of human filth to have your boots quaking like this."

Rayla aimed one of her gleaming blades at the fowl mouthed elf besmirching her friend's good name. She stared down Cressla alongside that gleaming piece of remorseless metal. The thought of taking a life churned her stomach, but she had to admit, the more Cressla spoke the sweeter the idea sounded.

"Yer gonna want to reframe from talkin' bout him like that, Cressla. If you knew Callum like I do, then you wouldn't-"

"Oh yes I would, I'm absolutely positive. I would."

"He is not what you think he is!"

"_It_, you refer to humans as _it_, just a mindless thing that steals lies and kills. Those beasts don't deserve any sentimental acknowledgment."

There goes that urge to kill again; steadily rising with each venomous word out of her lips. Cressla, like many elves, housed an infectious hatred towards all humans. They were nothing but savages, liars and killers and the only good human was a dead one. Nothing she said surprised Rayla. Everything she was saying and feeling once made perfect sense. Now Rayla sees clearer, now Rayla knows better…now that she knows Callum.

"Yer crossin' a mighty deep line Cressla, I'm warnin' you-"

"No I'm warning YOU! The line was already crossed when you abandoned us and your mission, siding with those bloodthirsty monsters. You've been blinded by their lies and trickery; just being prepped and primed to be stabbed in the heart."

"No I'm not! That's not him, that's not Callum. He trusts me with his life and I proudly do the same."

"HA I knew it! You actually have _feelings_ for that…that…THING!"

"I don't know. Maybe, maybe yer right, maybe I do have feelings but I'm not certain…not yet."

Her firm stance and tone softened suddenly. Questions and thoughts buzzed through her mind like chattering parrots; all trying to shout over one another to be heard. She didn't know what she was trying to hear or even what she wanted to hear. The truth was all so confusing and murky. War and lies had muddied the waters; she felt like she was drowning.

"But there is one thing I'm certain of."

Rayla's voice stiffened; rigid with authority and determination. Her questions remained unanswered but her mission and her devotion was crystal clear. The young elf approached her opponent; teal boots clicking across the clanking wood of the docks. Soft droplets of approaching rain splashed along her footsteps. Cressla readied herself for Rayla's advance; hand already reaching for her belted blade. Rayla stopped directly in front of Cressla and spoke with a ruthless, cold and clear tone Runaan had always told her was reserved for her targets before ending their lives with a slash of cold steel and a splatter of ruby red blood.

"Callum is my closest and dearest friend, Ezran too. _We _are returnin' the dragon prince to Xadia, _together_. Our business is ours and ours alone. Ye don't need to drag anyone else into it. We can settle up once Zym is back with his mother if ye like. However, make one wrong move against me or Callum and I swear it will be the last mistake ye ever make."

Cressla smiled deviously; forcing back a laugh that nearly escaped her pale blue lips.

KRAKKABOOM!

A deafening thunder clap caused the clouds in the sky to shudder horribly, flashes of light and deafening rumbles momentarily distracted Rayla. She looked back and found herself locking eyes with nothingness. Cressla was gone.

"Prince Ezran was our secondary target, wasn't he? If you're all traveling together then that means your little party wouldn't leave this place without you. That means there still here."

Cressla'a voice reverberated from the creaking ships rocking in the storming waters. Rayla frantically searched for her former comrade. Unfortunately, the rain started to pour down harder, faster. It was impossible to tell where be with all of this noise and pounding weather. Her snowy locks and teal suit clung to her body as rainfall soaked her.

"Much as I really wanted to finish our original mission by finishing off the young prince, I think it'll be far more satisfying to kill this _precious _Callum of yours first. We'll see how warm he makes you when you're snogging next to his cold, lifeless corpse!"

The faint sound of feet moving and leaping from one place to another could be briefly detected. Cressla was gone. Panic struck Rayla like a bucket of ice cold water. Cressla didn't know what Ezran looked like or where he was so she knew he and Zym were both safe. However, Cressla _does _know what Callum looks like. She spied on them during lunch after all. It would only be a matter of time before she found him and-

"No, I won't let that happen! I've got to find him!"

Rayla headed towards town, back to that outdoor café. Callum no doubt wandered around town looking for Rayla after she vanished. She worried he might have gone too far to the point she couldn't find him in time. However, Callum was responsible and smart enough to know not to go too far. He would have most likely stayed nearby the restaurant in case she came back. Callum may come off as a wonky, dummy of a human but deep down, she knows he's smarter and more considerate of others than most give him credit for. That thought brought a comforting smile to her face.

"I've got to focus though. He doesn't know what danger he's in, he knows to be careful but wouldn't be expecting an elf sneaking up on him; other than me of course," she thought to herself. She spotted the spot where the café's tables once were, must have put them away before the storm had hit. "That's the place! Now, if I were Callum where would I go?"

Her eyes scan across the immediate area. While she lacked the desire to take another's life, her tracking and hunting skills were without question. She knew she made it here before Cressla did, she knew her skills and knowledge of Callum's mindset gave her distinct advantages. To think she was too late was an irrational and baseless thought. However, try as she might she still found her mind being plagued with horrible imagery of what _could _happen if she did find Callum first. Fear and panic were unavoidable expectations. Thoughts of grizzly, blood splattered nightmares flashed in and out like the flickering flame of a dying torch. She forced them out of her mind. There was still time, there was still hope she'd find him…_alive_.

Her blurred mind flashed clean at the sound of a creaking door. Rayla looked towards the source and spotted a shadowy figure. The figure was lurking inside of a horse stable. Instinct kicked in and she bolted towards the source; blades bared and gleaming luminously from the glittering raindrops cascading down the cold steel. The elf warrior barged in and aimed her blades at whomever or whatever was cowering in the vacant stable.

WHAM!

Callum smashed a wooden water bucket over the hooded elf's head, it shattered to pieces and clunked loudly as it fell to the floor. The young prince grabbed a nearby pitchfork wedged into a bale of hay. He raised the weapon high above his head; prepared to strike down his would-be attacker before suddenly recognizing those white locks and familiar horn bulges from under the hood. The pitchfork fell from his hands and clattered to the ground.

"Rayla, is that you?!" he exclaimed far more loudly than he expected.

"OW! What in the bloody Hell is wrong with ye?" she cried out; clutching her throbbing skull. Rayla stumbled around in rain flooded boots. Her steps were wobbly, dizzying; she was clearly having trouble standing. Rayla removed her hood to more effectively feel the no-doubt freshly planted red mark forming on her forehead. "Was that bucket full of rocks or something?"

Callum immediately went to help her. Rayla shoved him back; cringing as the pain worsened the instant she moved to push him aside. "Rayla I am so, so sorry. I just-just didn't know it was you! I thought it was Claudia, or Soren or someone else trying to take us back or-or kidnap Zym and I just-" he suddenly ceased his frantic babbling. One glaring look from Rayla's purple hues sent frigid chills running up his spine. "Look, I panicked, that's no excuse for hurting you but I was just trying to keep safe until you came back," he explained.

"You won't be safe from me if I find out you broke one of my horns off, you-you…dummy!" she shrieked angrily. Usually Rayla used the word "dummy" as an affectionate, endearing term for Callum's eccentricities. This was definitely not one of those times.

The boy laughed weakly; sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. He felt like he was being crushed under the weight of his monumental stupidity. Things between him and Rayla had been going so smoothly. He was actually looking forward to walking back to the inn meet up with Ezran and Zym after their little lunch date. As simple as it sounded, the idea of walking side by side with her chatting up a storm sounded like a truly wonderful way to spend a day. Though he'd never verbalize it, Callum was starting to see this delay to Xadia caused by the storm as a blessing in disguise.

Well at least until now anyway.

It was at this time Callum realized Rayla had been soaked to the bone. Her cloak, clothes and boots dripped buckets worth of water to the floor. She groaned as she wrung her clothes out; puddles formed under the collective mass of icy liquids dripping off every aching part of her.

The young prince tenderly reached out to check Rayla's head; she fiercely swatted his hand away. He recoiled and backed up a bit. "Rayla, I just wanted to check to see how badly you were hurt," he wanted nothing more to mend things; he hated seeing her miserable like this; even knowing fully well he was the one responsible for her pain. "Can you at least let me take a look?"

"I'm fine! Positively peachy! We need to get moving back to the inn, before it's too late," she barked irritably. Rayla removed her cloak and swung it like a flag; shaking off any excess water. Callum saw her forehead exposed for the briefest of moments. Her horns were intact, thank spirits for that, but a bloody mark was definitely evident by her left temple. Rayla donned her cloak once more before Callum could do anything about it. "It's not goin to get any better with ya gawkin at it like that. Didn't ya hear me? We have to get movin' RIGHT NOW!" she snapped.

"What's the big rush? There's a storm coming. We can't just go running into it blindly, we should at least wait it out in here," Callum calmly explained.

"It's just a light drizzle, nothin' more," she grabbed Callum's arm and dragged him to the entrance. She ignored his protests and did her best to ignore the throbbing pain drilling into her skull like a twisting knife. The small trickle of blood dripping from her eyebrow thankfully went unnoticed by Callum. The last thing she needed was him having another excuse to sit here like sitting ducks; just waiting for Cressla to cleave their hides. "We can avoid it if we hurry, move it Callum!"

Before the doors could be opened, a blinding flash of white scorched across the sky. The crackling roar of thunder bellowed like howling devils. Rayla's four fingers hesitantly recoiled from the door as she saw the relentless downpour of rain dribbling through the cracks in the wood frame. Punishing winds hammered the stable with such pounding force that it creaked and rocked the entire structure.

One step outside and Rayla and Callum would be blown right out of their boots. They would never make it to the inn. It wasn't far from here but in this kind of weather, they'd be lucky if they even made it half way. The only good thing about this dreary predicament was that Cressla would be forced to seek shelter as well. Callum and Ezran would be safe from her former teammate's murderous wrath.

"Ugh…fine…I guess were stayin' for a while," Rayla dryly snipped. Every word was laced with morose irritation; Callum could practically feel her frustrating coming off of her as she spoke. She was still mad at him but not enough so to blindly barge out into a raging storm.

Rayla headed back to the center of the stable. Callum had apparently made a makeshift seat/couch out of the bountiful piles of hay nearby. She plopped down onto the pile. The splashing splat her rump made when coming into contact with the hay caused her to groan out loud. She tossed her soaked cloak to the side but kept her blade in hand. No horses seemed to be occupying this particular stable, not really surprising the elf girl as she noticed how rundown and crumbly this stable was.

"Thank you," his voice rung with warmth and sincerity; he sat down beside her and timidly watched her bleeding forehead. He knew she said she was fine but her wound clearly said otherwise. Even though steam was practically sizzling off of her, he couldn't just leave her like this. "Now since were both going to be stuck here for a while," she huffed in annoyance, "would you please allow me to try and-"

"No, here's what we're goin' to do were goin' to play every elf's favorite game, it's called the _Quiet game_: whoever talks first, loses. The game ends when the storm ends. Got it? Good, great, let's play!" she said; her voice dripping with boundless hostility.

ACHOO!

Rayla's sudden sneeze caused a shift in stability of the roof's structure. A hole opened up and rainwater crashed down onto Rayla, her body was consumed by the frigid, encompassing waterfall. The soaking spritz ended just as quickly as it began. This really wasn't turning out to be her day.

"I really, really, really, _really _hate water…"

"Um Rayla, does this mean I win the Quiet game because you talked?"

Rayla threw her head back and screamed.

* * *

_Hey everyone._

_Wow I did not think it would take this long to put this update together. Truth be told, I'm going to get a bit real for a moment. I was honestly considering cancelling this story at one point. This pandemic caused lots of depression issues I was not mentally prepared to handle and it's affected every part of my life, including my hobbies/interests. I doubted myself and lost faith and hope and felt this story wasn't going anywhere and I didn't know what I was doing. I felt trapped and discouraged and I didn't know how to fix it. Reading other people's fan fictions made me think mine were inferior and I didn't know if if it was even worth continuing a story I've become uncertain on. I decided to change my original plan for this story and just throw canon caution to the wind; fudge the timeline a bit more and just do my own thing. I'm not seeking sympathy or throwing a pity party for myself or my story, I just wanted everyone to know why things took so long. I decided I am going to finish this but it won;'t be super long and I'm going to change some things in the story for my ideas to work._

_Thanks for your patience and (hopefully) your understanding._

_PS: I checked it out and none of the other Moonshadow assassins were named so I came up with my own and expanded on her backstory/personality for the sake of the plot. Bye for now!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The lost prince and bitter elf sat uncomfortably in their mutual muted misery. No sound, no voices, nothing but the unforgiving pounding of the ice cold rain hammering away at the humble stables like pelting nails. Time's passage was undetectable by the young teen's sullen senses; dulled by the sourness that had brewed between them. Neither one had the voice nor a sturdy enough heart to make the first adventurous inquiry.

But they both knew what was wrong, what was _really _wrong.

Rayla wasn't really mad at Callum. Her sudden disappearance and frantic barging in would have set off anyone's panic mode; he'd probably been freaking out and imagining horrific nightmare scenarios ever since she didn't come back to the restaurant. No, she wasn't mad…she was fearful. The looming threat of darkness has always been over this boy's family ever since the King killed the king of dragons. Now, thanks to her own inability to exercise discretion and mishandling the situation with Cressla, another blade was being aimed at his throat. How could a boy who brings such kindness and love to war torn worlds be so frequently targeted by murderous villains?

Love…could Cressla really be right about that? The young elven lass was well versed with Callum's kindness, he's been warming her heart with it since the day they first met. How strange. That day feels so far away and yet it's only been a matter of weeks since Callum was offering himself up in his brother's place to satisfy the Moonshadow elves thirst for vengeance and blood, a quest she was infinitely grateful to abandon. But love? Was it really love that radiated towards Callum's spirit, or was it her and her alone that wished his love for her was something more than just friendship and comradery? She couldn't tell anymore. She'd brought such pain into his life. It didn't feel right to love someone like that, let alone to _be _loved by someone as pure as Callum.

She smiled faintly just thinking about it, about the sweetness of that word; _pure_. He truly was pure. Callum had sought peace and forgiveness in a world of adults too blind and scornful to remember such words existed. His wondrous curiosity and childlike humor warmed her in ways no fire or ray of sunshine ever could. She hoped he never lost that part of his soul, but more importantly, silently; she hoped she would be there to make sure darkness never blackened his heart like it has so many humans before him.

"ACHOO!"

Rayla's sneeze was deafening. In truth, it was no louder than any other sneeze but with the cricketing boards of the withered stables and the awkward silence still mounting between her and Callum, it was as loud as a gonging church bell.

"You sure you don't want to wear my shirt? It's warm and dry" Callum said; nervously swallowing. Rayla had been soaked head to toe and stripped down to her undergarments in a fruitless effort to warm up. They found a ratty brown blanket in the stable but based on Rayla's shivering and chattering teeth, it wasn't enough. "I-I-I swear I won't look, you can just-just take it!" Callum looked away and extended his blue shirt towards the soaked elf girl. His face flushed brightly, he worried it would stay that way forever at the length she was debating on whether or not to accept his offering.

"Um t-t-t-t-thanks but," her hand and voice quivered just as anxiously as Callum's did. She almost reached out for the shirt, but stopped and pulled her hand back. "I'm good; yea I think I'm good." She tightened the fowl smelling, moth eaten blanket over her body. She loathed its scratchy texture rubbing uncomfortably against her exposed skin, but it was the sole source of warmth she had and she did not have the emotional maturity to accept Callum's gift without turning just as bumbling and beat red as Callum was.

"Oh uh right-right, sorry I just…understood," he tried to hide the hurt in his voice. Her reaction was not unexpected, but it was disappointing none the less. Callum slowly put his shirt back on.

"_I can't do anything right, can I_?"

Callum felt himself drowning in his dark thoughts. These thoughts were as relentless and unyielding as the punishing downpour outside; both were completely inescapable.

If there's one thing this journey has taught Callum it's that he is without a doubt, absolutely, completely and utterly…_helpless_.

When he left with Rayla and Ezran to return the dragon prince to his mother in Xadia, he thought he would be able to play a pivotal role in aiding his friend and brother. He knew the primal stone would allow him to cast spells and make a difference whenever trouble arose…which was quite often as it turned out. Using magic made him feel like he had finally found his calling. It was as if he had been walking down dead ends all his life and magic was the first time he found a path he could truly follow. He sighed as he watched water drip onto one of many puddles forming from the leaks in the roof. But when Zym was on the verge of death, he knew giving up his newfound path was more than worth it if the young dragon prince could live. He didn't regret smashing the primal stone, not for one second. Callum did regret not being able to help on the mission anymore, _that _pain stung far worse than any blade or fist.

"_Look at her…she does so much. She finds us food, protects us from danger, and knows the best way to avoid trouble or cut down our travel time. She's a super warrior woman for spirits sake! Ezran is the rightful heir to the throne, which makes him in charge of a whole country. It's awful how he got the throne, absolutely, but at least he has the power and ability to make a true difference…and then…look at me."_

Ever since he smashed the primal stone, the young prince felt more and more incapable of contributing anything meaningful to the team outside of snappy one liners and an occasional dumb lucky plan that _sometimes _worked. He could always sketch up a pretty picture and hope any pursuers would be distracted by his wondrous art talent, _yeah right_. Failure was a flavor Callum has had to choke down ever since his mother married King Harrow. He wasn't a real prince; he was a _step _prince, one incapable of wielding a sword or any other kind of useful skill. He hated being worthless to Ezran and Rayla, but especially to _her_. Rayla's opinion of him meant everything. He hoped practicing magic could somehow bring him closer to her and her culture; bridge the ocean sized gap between their respective skills and be more of a help than a hindrance. Rayla needed a partner…not another powerless human to slow her down when things got rough.

"I was a little mad at you, you know" he said solemnly; almost whispering it so she didn't have to know how much he was troubled by his jumbling thoughts. He sighed heavily and stared numbingly as water dropped onto the floor, drop after drop. "Why did you leave me?"

Rayla's ears perked up. She looked at Callum curiously; clearly missing what he had said. He laughed dryly. He was certain she would have heard him with those big ears of hers.

"Did you say something, Callum?"

He could say something else. He could lie, make up something and stop this before it goes any further; she wouldn't know. It's not like he _had _to tell her what he really said. But still, deep down he knew that things never ended well for those that hid things and lied. Claudia was a liar, just like her father. They always hid things from the world, even from each other. He didn't want to be like that.

"I was _really_ mad at you, for like hours, okay?" he said a bit too firmly.

Rayla's face soured into a bitter, irritable frown. She felt a vein bulge along her forehead; it aggravated her still throbbing horns. He had some nerve telling her how angry _he _was considering she ran like the wind just to make sure he was safe. The elf lass could barely contain the bite brewing behind her scowling lips as she prepared to give the prince an earful.

One look at his face and her resolve crumbled like cheap pastries.

Callum struggled to keep his voice firm and his eyes dry; struggling in a losing battle to maintain his emotional strength. He felt everything balled up inside of him come spilling out and he couldn't stop. "I had no idea where you were, what happened to you, I-I didn't know if you were alive or dead! I mean, this is a dangerous mission so obviously there are risks; stuff happens," he shrugged; running his hands through his hair anxiously. "And I'm sure there was a perfectly good reason why you left, I know that. I trust that you wouldn't leave me like that unless you had to…but still…but still."

"Callum…" her voice trailed off. She reached out to him; placing a hand on his trembling shoulder, but he didn't seem to notice. Callum spoke and shook with feverish intensity. Rayla reluctantly pulled her hand back. He didn't know what was happening and neither did Rayla, all they knew was that this needed to happen, this needed to be said.

"I was worried you would be gone and I'd never have to chance to see you again…just like my dad," nothing could stop the tears now. Callum shuddered as uncontrollable waves of sadness engulfed him. The haunting sight of him flashed across his mind. He was screaming his dad's name as the elves and guards raged war outside those doors, those accursed; suffocating doors. "It's like he disappeared behind those doors…like…like it sucked him into a black void where I couldn't reach him. I'll never know what happened to him when the end came; I'll never know what his last words were or the face he made," he slowly turned his reddened, tear soaked eyes to Rayla, "and I was worried the same thing was going to happen to you." She gasped softly. "You almost disappeared too; left without a trace. I would have spent the rest of my life wondering what happened to you, wondering if I could have done something different; something that could have made a difference. I _want _to do something that makes a difference because I don't want to wonder what happened to you like what happened to my dad. I want to matter enough that you'll stay, not leave," he said brokenly. Callum choked down his sobs as he tried to control his breathing.

A sudden feeling of warmth enwrapped his body from behind. The warmth had an odd mixture of dampness and scratchiness, coupled with a comforting, familiar scent that reminded him of red flare water lilies.

It was at this point Callum realized his body had ceased shaking, his tears stopped the moment this wonderful warmth encompassed him. His eyes widened at the feel of horns and ivory white locks resting against his back. Rayla was hugging him. Naked, wet, tough as nails Rayla was _hugging _him! Dampness soaked into his clothes from her bare skin. Callum felt an odd mixture of unbridled joy and binding embarrassment surge inside his rapidly thumping heart.

"_Ye matter to me, ye matter to me,_" she quaked breathlessly; barely able to form those words.

She sounded so certain and yet so frightened. He never imagined Rayla could sound so fragile and vulnerable. Her touch calmed his nerves without the slightest trace of actual magic. It was like the simple act of making physical contact with her hit some sort of button that relaxed every muscle and thought in his body.

"I didn't want to leave ya; I didn't want to leave our date! I was having fun. I can't remember the last time I had any fun. There was somethin' bad happenin', somethin' I had to do and leavin' ya behind was the only way to keep ya safe. But I should've told ya somethin', anythin! It wasn't right to leave things like that, to leave _ya _like that. Ye matter to me, Callum. I'm goin' to say it again: _ye matter to me, Callum_."

He was at a loss; he didn't know what to say or to think. Everything in his mind was buzzing, confusing but also…warm. Rayla's words were heartfelt and comforting beyond imagination. When was the last time he felt such care and love pouring over him like that? It was when his mom was still alive.

It was at this time Callum realized something very crucial about his current situation: Rayla was still naked!

While she still had her undergarments on, it still weighed heavily on his overstimulated teenage mind that a half-naked elf girl was pressing her body against his own. He felt every curve, every smooth muscle her well-toned body had to offer. Callum's face felt like it was going to burst in flames at any moment.

"_Would it be inappropriate if I said anything? Would it be inappropriate if I __**didn't **__say anything? I mean she knows, right? She HAS to know this is actually happening. Man, I wonder if mom ever went through anything weird like this with dad._"

Callum disrupted his frazzled thoughts with a nervous cough, the motion jarred Rayla out of her immersive embrace. She had barely comprehended the speed and intensity of her need to comfort Callum at the time. Rayla felt like she was waking up from a bittersweet dream when he coughed aloud.

"Callum is everything all right?" she asked hesitantly. Her eyes seemed permanently locked on his face. She feared letting go but she feared looking down and having reality confirm her awkward position. Rayla opted to just keep watching him; as if not looking down would mean what was happening wasn't actually happening.

Try as he might, he couldn't avoid stealing a glimpse of that heavenly body thinly cloaked under that raggedy bit of cloth. Rayla's skin was pale; creamy in color yet luminous and radiant even under the blanket. Years of training were clearly evident in the smooth yet firm muscles across her slender arms. Her legs were practically glowing with majestic perfection. She looked so strong and yet so inviting; like she could warm the coldest parts of the planet in her arms and protect it with the ferocity and grace of a proud mother. Every muscle lining her calves displayed a pristine complexion unmarked by scars or bruises. Most warriors were proud of their scars, but the thought of someone scraping steel against such a beautiful figure with an equally beautiful heart was too tragic to contemplate. Callum's immaturity nagged him to ponder what other shapely curves were hidden by the blanket. Thank the spirits elves couldn't read minds.

"Yeah-yeah, feeling uh much better, much better," his cheeks burned bright with cherry red flushes; a color Rayla always seemed to bring out of him. He gulped heavily. "So just to be like, like clear like totally, 100% clear-clear," he babbled anxiously; eyes nervously darting forth and still shamefully stealing glances of the pristine creamy skin pressed up against his now-damp clothing, "your like…I mean you are really, like really-really….naked aren't you?"

"OKAY and that is the end of that," she backed away; raising her arms in the air. Her fingers kept a tight hold on that tattered blanket. "I uh I just um uh just feel uh we should, ya know, never _ever _mention this again…to anyone…take it to the grave…that sorta thing," she fumbled awkwardly.

Callum's stoic expression seemed immune to her youthful erratic behaviors. He blinked slowly as Rayla tightened the flimsy protection of the ratty blanket around her exposed body.

"Well, I guess there's no going back now."

"What are you talkin' abo-OH MY STARS, YOUR STRIPPIN' DOWN! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! Things officially just got worse; I didn't think that was possible but ya did it all right!"

He looked towards Rayla; despite the fact she was doing everything in her power to do the opposite. He went back to focusing on removing his boots and scarf. Once he was finished, Callum pit his clothes off to the side on a pile of hay. None of this made sense. He knew it, she knew it, and anyone observing them would be telling them the same thing. But Callum felt that this was the only thing he could do in this situation.

"I…I know I'm not…m-m-much to look at but…I felt this was the only way to make things fair since I…sort of…_looked_."

His voice trembled with insecurity, she noticed it almost immediately. She felt a twinge of compassion at his stumbling sincerity. She knew Callum was saddled with arrogance but she did not expect him to be the self-loathing type either. All of that empathy washed away once the grave reality of his last spoken word sunk in; like a spear to the heart.

"_He LOOKED?! That unbelievable pervert prince! I am sittin' hear with my body all laid out and he sneaks a peek while I'm tryin' to bloody comfort him, ugh! He's goin' to see angry like he's never seen before."_

Anger fueled her courage to look forward and lock eyes with the peeping prince. She wanted nothing more than to give him a piece of her mind, along with her foot and her fist. Rayla didn't care how loud or physical she got, Hell, she didn't even care if Cressla, Viren and all of Katolis came barging in here to string them up; she was going to make sure Callum heard what she had to say.

"Of all the thick headed, rotten fish stinkin' things to pull! I cannot believe that you would dare to…"

Her voice trailed off once her violet eyes shimmered with the reveal of Callum's exposed body. While it is not something she had thought about _often_, she certainly had not been expecting it to look like _this_.

Being a prince falsely lead her to believe he had some shameful flab to his figure from living the life of luxury. Callum's physique was far more muscular and sculpted than the elf girl had expected. Sure, he was nowhere near Adonnis sculpted men like Corvus or Soren but there was definitely far more firmness molded into his pale skin. She never found rippling pectorals bulging like boulders to be that attractive truth be told. Callum's physique was more natural, realistic; an authentic figure unburdened by the need to impress others. Rayla liked that. The longer she stared at his enchanting ethereal skin, the more muscles she saw bulging from his arms and calves. She mentally smacked herself in the face. It shouldn't surprise her in the least bit that his body has grown more fetching and firm; he has been traveling with her and fighting alongside her for many moons now.

Callum fidgeted anxiously. He wondered if he had made a huge mistake by disrobing and if he should quickly put his clothes back on before he dies of embarrassment. Rayla didn't seem to realize how long she had been staring at the half-naked prince. She squeaked sheepishly, her cheeks burning bright with cherry red flushes.

Callum felt like such a fool. His hand timidly reached for his scarf, his redness and fidgeting increasing with each awkward passing second. "S-s-s-sorry you had to see this, I just thought," Callum fumbled reaching for his shirt; dropping his scarf and leaning down onto his knees to collect them, "I don't know what I was thinking; this was this was stupid."

His twitching hands were suddenly cupped by a familiar, comforting 4 fingered hand. Her touch cooled his frazzled nerves, his shaking ceased instantaneously. The bumbling prince looked to his friend's eyes and felt a wave of warmth wash over him. Rayla's eyes were full of affection and enchantment, not judgment. He kept waiting for when she'd burst into a merciless fit of laughter, when she'd cringe or crack harsh comments on his pitiful body image. But she never did, Rayla never laughed. Rayla smiled with sweetness and sincerity.

"Callum, ye have nothin' to be ashamed of. I think it's really sweet ye wanted to…ahem…balance things," she stifled a giggle; more at her choice of words than at his expense. Callum smiled and exhaled softly. "Should give yerself more credit, flirty prince. Any girl would be lucky to snuggle up to a body like that," Rayla said tenderly. She meant it too, those airheads that cruelly wrote Callum off as a pervert don't have a clue what their missing; lucky for her.

"Does that include right now?" he hesitantly asked; rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh-oh you mean _me_? Well I wasn't thinkin' that we were…ahem…_there _just yet, I mean we just-"

"I meant under the blanket with you, because it's getting kind of chilly," he rubbed his arms rapidly. She slowly realized what he meant and what she meant were two completely different things! Rayla's face burned immeasurably hot at the realization. "This was kind of the whole point of the whole 'strip down' thing, because you know, body warmth and all that," he rambled on. Rayla nodded impatiently and quickly dragged Callum into the blanket to stop him from saying anything else.

Rayla and Callum were now inches from each other; unable to look, touch or move anywhere else without their exposed bodies brushing against one another.

Where does one go from here now?

Two lost souls sheltering from the punishing cover of a relentless storm in the warm embrace of each other's arms. Everything was confusing, nothing made sense and both of them could feel that distorted sense of serenity filling up their hearts. The young pair wondered how much of this was seeking warmth and how much was a flimsy excuse just to get close to each other. Neither knew what to do or say next. One thing was certain though, they couldn't hear the storm anymore; all they could hear was the beating of their hearts wildly thumping away.

"Callum…what does _this_ mean…what do you and I _mean_? I honestly don't know anymore," her voice was soft and frail. Her strength and courage abandoned her the moment she entombed herself with Callum in this blanket. All she could feel was him. Her hands slowly yet lovingly intertwined with his; fingers locking together, awkwardly yet perfectly. "Are we supposed to be doin' this, _can _we even do this? This was supposed to be about returnin' Zym to his mum, now there's…all this! Help me make sense of all this, please," she pleaded.

She looked to him as if her life depended on his next choice of words. Callum was so used to being a stumbling, jabbering dork in front of Claudia. Every line or move he attempted came out as a jumbled mess. He remembers the weird looks on girl's faces whenever he did something humiliating, always hoping he could laugh it off and they'd find it cute or endearing. They never did. Right now though, at this very moment, he felt like he could say or do anything. Maybe it's because this girl is truly special and the idea of letting her down or disappointing was something he was physically incapable of doing. So much had happened in such a short amount of time. Did that matter? Does that invalidate what he's feeling right now…what _does _he feel right now?

The young prince raised his hand up from the blanket, reached out and gently brushed a strand of silver hair from Rayla's immaculate, angelic face. "I think you are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen," he said breathlessly. Rayla's cheeks flushed bright red. She wanted to shy away from his eyes but with their proximity, there was nowhere to look without that handsome boy's face drawing her gaze right back. "I know that probably didn't help much," he laughed weakly, "but that's all I can think of right now. I don't know what any of this means. I guess you could say that I felt like there was always some kind of weird, invisible barrier between us; blocking out something that felt right and felt nice but we were never really aware of it to notice."

"What are ye talkin' about? We barely know each other and-and were jabberin' away like this is more than what it is," she shook her head; thoughts buzzing wildly in her clouded mind.

"Look, I've felt like I was always out of place with the rest of the world. I blew it as a prince and I dropped the ball at being a good step-son. But ever since I met you, I feel like your challenging me to be better, be different; to be _myself_. And I just…I didn't even know who I was err am until we met!" Callum leaned closer, cupping both her hands together with his on top of her knees. The move stunned and startled Rayla but it did not alarm her, in fact, it was comforting. The passion in his eyes and voice called to her. She could feel it. "When you called me a mage, it was like you made he feel like I was a part of your world. I've done things I would have never done before. You dragged me into a world that is amazing and, albeit sometimes scary, but still more amazing than anything I ever dreamed I could be part of." He moved in closer. "I don't know where were going, I don't know where any of this is going…but I want to find out. I want to find out with you! Because you're compassionate and strong, you kick butt better than even Soren and you are like crazy stupid brave, brave enough even to give some wide eyed step-prince a chance to bring about peace with his little brother…that's worth exploring if you ask me," he said passionately.

Rayla's reddened cheeks continued to expand their crimson glow all across her face. She felt so strange. There were no words to articulate this sensation, this growing, bubbling feeling that melted her nerves of steel into gooey butter. She felt like she was standing under the luminous glow of the full moon light, making her feel utterly invincible; like on that fateful night. But this was different, this was purer and in some ways…even more magical.

"What happened to ya, when did ye become such a wizard with words?" she stifled an endearing laugh; holding back tears that threatened to trickle down. "Everythin yer sayin…it's so sweet…unbearably so. I've been surrounded by magic words my whole life and none of em ever felt as powerful as what ya just said," she looked away. Callum looked curiously at her. The tears flowed freely now, but neither Rayla nor Callum could tell if they were tears of joy or tears of sorrow. "I don't deserve it, I don't deserve any of it," Callum gasped, "we should stop this now or else it's goin to hurt so much I won't be able to stand it."

"Hey, hey," he calmly said; gently cupping her cheek with his hand and turning her gaze back to him. She wanted to resist but his warm touch was so intoxicating, she couldn't help but melt into it. "You've always been sure of yourself and your skills. Why in the world would you doubt yourself now?" he asked. He hated seeing her like this; so uncertain and full of tears. This isn't the Rayla he knew.

"Because I've done too much wrong and the longer I stay, the worse it's goin to get," she firmly pulled his hand from her cheek. Coldness returned as more tears dripped down her purple markings. "I helped kill yer da; I came into yer home and nearly killed you too! My own family has abandoned and rejected me. I don't belong in either of our worlds and yer actin' like I can just fall into yers like nothing ever happened?" she shook her head, "after Zym goes home, it's best if I leave and don't see ya again…it's safer that way."

"That doesn't make any sense! After all we've been through, what makes you think any other girl could possibly make me happier than you?" Rayla's eyes flashed open. His words were every bit as sharp as her blades; they pierced her defenses far too easily for her heart's liking.

"How happy could ye really be with an outcast? We _both _know everyone outside of this little shack would never understand us, much less accept us," she countered adamantly.

"Bringing Zym home is going to bring about peace, a peace that will allow both our worlds to harmonize. Things will be better for everyone and _for us_ once this is over. And even if they're not, I don't care!" His eyes lit up like the fiery wings of a phoenix. There was that passion again, that surging spark of heart and emotion. Her toes curl anxiously. She was fighting a losing battle on a side she never wanted to be on in the first place. His face inched closer to hers, flashes of lighting shuttered over their faces. A warm hand gently brushed across her bare knee. Blushing glows lit up Rayla's face as well as the young prince's. He was surprised by his own sudden boldness. "There's no force in the world that will change how I feel about this," he gulped audibly, "about _you_."

"But there is, there's one comin' for us as we speak and it's my fault", flustered; she pushed Callum's hand from her knee. If they weren't both half naked and clinging to each other for warmth, she'd be pacing a hole in the floor right about now. Her eyes shifted anxiously as her voice grew more frantic and panicky. "One of the Moonshadow assassins survived the guards. She's pissed off somethin' fierce and she saw us gettin' cozy at the restaurant," she closed her eyes shamefully. Rayla didn't have to look at Callum's face to know how alarmed he was to hear this dreadful news; just another deathly shadow looming over their doomed quest. "She's comin' to kill us all, _you _especially. She thinks ya hold my heart in yer hand and wants to watch me suffer by killing ya. That's why I can't do this; I can't let my feelings be responsible for ya losin' yer life," she said achingly.

Rayla tried to break free from the blanket. She reached for her clothes, arm stretching out to grab them off their makeshift drying line. It may be storming and soaking outside but if she's lucky enough, she can leave now, find Cressla and stop her. She'd never expect her to attack during this mess.

"That's not going to happen. I don't care if someone is after me, it doesn't matter who it is; I'm not letting _this _or _you _go because of some danger that's heading our way. I knew the risks when I signed up for this," he said defensively. His hand latched onto her hers; tugging her to come back though offering very little force. The young prince looked to her pleadingly. His eyes begged her to come back, to come back into his warmth and safety; safe from the world and the storm. "You don't have to do this," he said.

"For yer sake, I absolutely have to do this. It's the only way to keep you safe and settle things," Rayla said unwaveringly. Her tone was without compromise but Callum detected little to no threat or anger in her voice. She was only doing what she believed was the best way to keep him safe. He was touched, frustrated and irritated with her stubbornness but still touched.

"Look, we both know if you really wanted to you could just leave; there's no way I could physically stop you," his grip on her hand softened but still refused to release her. Rayla's first instinct was to tug her hand free and continue on her solo mission. But something changed. Callum sounded so wounded and defeated, it weakened her stance slightly. Callum sighed. "Just stay with me here tonight, stay until the storm is over. When it's over, if you still want to leave to find this other elf, you can just go. I won't stop you," he watched her reaction as he slowly released her hand.

"You realize what yer askin' me to do, right? Cressla could find us in the mornin' and end us before we even wake up. If I go now it'll be a lot harder but it might give me the edge over her," Rayla said; her resolve lessened by Callum's surprising concession. "She's better trained than I am and I'm worried that if she catches us off guard I can't guarantee ye'll be safe," she said wearily.

"It'll be all right, I have total faith in you Rayla," he said; simply yet powerfully. Rayla's smooth, milky white body clinched rigidly. His words struck her to her core. She felt like the thundering screams of the violent storm had been magically silenced and replaced with a harmonious jingle of wind chimes. "I always have."

Slowly but calmly, Rayla turned to face Callum once more. Her stance presented the kind prince with an unavoidable view of her breathtaking curvaceous figure. His cheeks flushed a bright shade of crimson. The boy's eyes darted between her body and the floor. Callum didn't want to avoid eye contact for fear of being rude when it appeared she was finally agreeing to stay for the night, but he also didn't want to leer lecherously at her exposed figure either. Rayla smiled and giggled softly.

"_It's amazin', such brave words from such a noble and lovin' human. And yet he still stumbles like a child when he sees me like this. Oh spirits is he cute_," she thought fondly.

Without another word, Rayla gracefully moved back towards her flirty prince and returned to the warmth of his body and the cover of the blanket. Callum sat frozen in place. He felt like a blinking, red faced statue. He didn't know if he should move or say anything so he remained as silent as his lovely companion. With the swiftness of an angel, Rayla placed her hands on Callum's shoulders, guided him to the makeshift bed of straw they built and laid down; eyes staring enchantingly into his own.

Callum and Rayla continued staring at one another. Their hands slowly moving together; interlocking 5 fingers with 4 once again. They moved as if they had a mind of their own. The young teens huddled close; tightening the blanket over their virginal bodies. There was still so much uncertainty between them, still questions and feelings to explore. Their journey to Xadia continued to surprise them with new wonders and worries. The only thing they knew for sure was how they felt at this very moment.

Content…

Before they knew it, sleep had overtaken them. Rayla and Callum drifted into a deep, serene sleep with their hands still interlocked; foreheads pressing against one another. Their comforting touch and warmth melted away the frigidity of the rain and the winds from their bodies. The world could wait until tomorrow, let them have tonight; let them have _this_.

* * *

Rays of angelic light bled through the cracks in the stable's roof; pouring onto the couple slumbering peacefully away within. The faint sound of water dripping into buckets and puddles splashed faintly. Callum's eyes slowly opened.

"What a beautiful sight to see first thing in the morning," he murmured happily.

Nothing but waves of steel-like silver and ash black horns as far as the young prince could see. Her angelic face remained quiet and still; a perfect shot of immaculate beauty he sadly could not immortalize onto a sketch. He silently cursed himself for not keeping his sketchbook and tools closer when he discarded his clothing. This lovely sight would be forever cared into his memory.

THUNK!

The sound of a wooden bucket clattering to the floor shattered Callum's hopes of a tender morning between him and Rayla. Since no elven blade was being aimed at his throat, it was safe to assume it wasn't Cressla who just discovered them. Rayla still seemed to be sleeping. The poor girl was no doubt beyond exhausted from chasing Callum and Cressla over town.

"What the Hell do you two think you're doing in my stables?" a gruff voice barked.

Callum turned to see a burly, red bearded man with rippling muscles, crooked teeth and a small jagged scar across his swollen lump of a nose. He crossed his arms and glared scathingly with judgmental green eyes at the sleepy pair before him.

"Say, by any chance would you actually believe me if I told you nothing really happened?" Callum offered a weak laugh. He pushed the blanket down from his face; revealing more of his chest and concealing more of Rayla's sleeping form. Things will not end well for either of them if Rayla gets exposed; in more ways than one!

A gentle, cooing moan escaped from Rayla's lips. She lazily stretched and poked her bare feet out from under the blanket; still blissfully dreaming away. Her toes curled in response to exposure to the cold ground and retreated back under the blanket. It was an adorable sight. Callum would be smiling at such a sight if he didn't have a fuming brute staring him down.

The man growled menacingly and cracked his knuckles.

"Yeah, I didn't think so," Callum laughed weakly.

To be continued…

* * *

_Hey everyone, Bionic Slime here! Hope your enjoying the story and how things have been shaping up. Things have been going great for me lately and I just wanted to thank everyone for sticking with me, this story and offering such wonderful words of encouragement and support. It meant a lot to me. It took a long time to get this chapter just right but I feel its my best so far. Those wondering how short this story will be, I'm not sure how long it will keep going but I can assure you it won't make it past 10 chapters. Feel free to leave your comments, questions, compliments and criticisms in the reviews! Bye for now!_


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